RTSC Startopia Guide Part 6: Trade & Communications

The RTSC Guide to Startopia
Part 6: Trade & Communications

Trade

There are several ways you can obtain crates and cargo, and each has its pros and cons. Basically, if it saves you time, then it's usually expensive. The fastest way is to simply buy them from the first trader you deal with, Arona Daal. He's the only character you can trade with when the game first gets underway. He's a dodgy bugger though, and routinely overcharges you until you can scrape together enough cash and find enough space to install a whopping great Star Dock.

Star Docks are pretty impressive contraptions, and allow passing trading ships to dock. The Star Dock opens your domain to merchant shipping and the rest of the galaxy - and to much better deals than Arona. Each of the nine Startopian races have their representative traders, and each species will offer you cheap commodities and great sales according to their racial theme. However, the downside of trading is availability. If you need certain types of supplies or hardware in a hurry then you're likely to find yourself having to wait for the right trader to pass by, and then suddenly find half a dozen all try to contact you at once. Other players will also vie for their business as well, so it can boil down to who's got the quickest draw when it comes to snaring the deals you want.

Communications

However, nothing will happen in your docking bay unless you have a Comsensor to communicate with the rest of the Universe. Comsensors allow you to receive increase your Station revenue by accepting Traders' offers, receiving Tourist group requests from passing tourists and pilgrims, and assisting in medical emergencies that frequently offer substantial bonuses. You have to be fast and alert though, because a message may be snapped up by other players. I think by stacking the number of Comsensors, and manning them with enough skilled Targ lets you beat other players to the messages.

Comsensors are manned exclusively by those short little insect guys, the Grekka Targ. At first glance, you may feel you only need one Comsensor to scan the sub ether bands for incoming ships and messages. But they also monitor the Station's interior for any intelligence, working in conjunction with the Kasvagorians manning the Security Center. I think increased numbers of Comsensors will assist your Station's ability to spot bombs, agents, criminal activity and other hazards more readily. I've spotted flashing segment alerts where there was no violence or Security Scuzzers but only a criminal with only a Comsensor nearby. I'm still unsure whether it matters whether you pack all your Comsensors into one spot or whether evildoings are detected within a certain radius - if they can be detected at all.

The only downside is that criminal Targ may try to use your Comsensors. Apart from possibly interfering with any warning messages, this doesn't seem to have an noticeable impact on your station.


Know Your Alien Traders

Alien	Best Buys	Best Sells	Notes

Arona Daal	Ha! You wish	Depends how bad the power failure is...	Arona Daal is the most versatile trader of all, but he overcharges and rarely gives you a selling price in return. He sells just about everything available in Startopia, including rare and weird items that other traders don't normally offer - but just not all at once, though. His first trades will get you started but once you've got an economy up and running you only really check him out to see if the Lucky Dip he offers actually has one or two weird items difficult to find anywhere else, such as the Uplanter, Robot Heaven, and Planetscape statues.

	Basic facilities Industrial items	Retail	Salt Hogs are good for buying anything to do with industrial and basic facilities: Lavatrons, Recyclers, Factories, etc. They're also your major source for Mineral Ores, for use in the Dine-O-Mat. In return they like basic consumer items: Hardware, some Luxuries, etc. However, they have limited buying and spending power.

	Cargo Holds Media items Power items		The Grekka Targ are like the guys who help out the cops whilst at the same time flogging radar detectors and hot sound systems from the back of a van in the police car park. With Targ Traders, think Dodgy, Media, and the means to power their gadget driven lusts: Holodromes, Image Projectors, Comsensors, Black Market Goods, Power Boosters and the odd Cargo Bay for that illicit record collection. Return the favour with Security items, Industrial Goods and the odd Factory for them to make more dodgy stuff with.

	Medical items	Research items	Its easy with Greys: just think of Medicine and alien abductions. They're also doctors on holiday - they seem to like all kinds of Station entertainment's without any issues or special preferences. You should only buy all your medical supplies and equipment of these guys, and in return they'll buy luxuries and anything to do with Research. These creepy little guys haven't quite forgotten their cow molesting ways.

	Love items	Medical	Sirens are easy, too. Er, to remember, that is. Think of Sex and STD's! Sirens are great for anything to do with hedonistic lifestyles (Leisure Stores and Music Shops) and of course, Love Nests. In return, large profits can be made selling them any kind of Medical good.

	Security items		Kasvagorians fight, play, eat and sleep hard. That means they'll sell you cheap security related items (Security Centres, Turrets, Lockdown Brigs, cheap Security Scuzzers, Rough Bars and Combat Stores in return for food, Dine-O-Mats, Medical supplies and a few luxuries now and then. Huge amounts of Fighting, some eating and some Band-Aids make up the Gor Trader's shopping list.

	Food Sleep items		The hippy themed Karmaramans are good for food and sleep related merchandise: Food Supplies, Dine-O-Mats, Sleeping Berths, and maybe some Black Market Goods grown illicitly on the side. They're not that well off. For their Green credentials, Karmaramans like buying lots of Mineral Ores (No, they haven't sold out to mining interests - they need potting mix!) and Recyclers.

	Research items e Collector	Love items	It goes without saying that Turrakken Traders are great to buy anything Research related from. These hard core scientists also sell Computer Stores and bargain basement Energy Collectors. In return they will take anything Love related - for their shy friends, of course. Constantly in the pursuit of more knowledge, you can also make a tidy sum flogging Alien Artifacts to them.

	Religious items (time, meditation)	They'd rather convert you	As traders, Zedem Monks are nondescript. They sell time related and meditative merchandise. Apart from the giant Viewing Gallery, Plaza Fountains and Chronometers, they don't offer that much. Occasionally some interesting items might come your way, but for the most part you're better off trading with someone else if you're forced to choose. They have no real preferences when it comes to selling stuff back to them and Zedem trade is a bit of a lucky dip.

	Gem Slug items exotics		Polvakian Gem Slugs are good to trade with thanks to their spending and buying power, especially anything Slug related (Slug Apartments and Slug furniture) or exotic and expensive (Palace Galacticas, Oroflexes, Roulesse Wheels, Cocktail Bars, etc.). They'll practically take all those Black Market and Luxury Items that always seem to pile up whilst selling you a lifetime's supply of Alien Items.


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Last modified Tue, Sep 30 2003 by Lindsay Fleay.